Browse some recent Origin Reviews.
Scott Reeves - Portraits and Places
by Ric Bang, Jazz Scan
Great jazz orchestras are harder to find these days than the proverbial hen's tooth. The general public no longer desires to hear the music that made the Big Band years so fantastic, and established talents such as Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Gene Krupa, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Stan Kenton and so many others. Groups like those are no longer cost-effective to work or tour with. Thankfully, a market still exists for the smaller... read more
Bad Luck - Four
by Ian Gwin, All About Jazz
4-STARS For over a decade, Seattle-based duo Bad Luck—that's Neil Welch (saxophones, electronics) and Christopher Icasiano (drums)—have packed and unpacked their deceptively simple formula of drums and saxophone. Through their deep musical partnership, they continue to recast the mold of contemporary music. Over countless fiery performances and three full-length releases, the depth of the duo's compositional improvisations has... read more
Cathy Segal-Garcia - SOCIAL ANTHEMS, VOLUME 1
by Paula Edelstein, Sounds of Timeless Jazz
Social Anthems Volume 1 is an excellent rendition of protest songs covered by vocalist Cathy Segal-Garcia. A child of the Sixties, Ms. Segal-Garcia sings some of the most memorable songs of social importance with exemplary new arrangements. Although these songs were mostly introduced as Folk inspired songs, Segal-Garcia's jazzy updates work really well. Joined by such stellar musicians as Anthony Wilson on guitar, Josh Nelson on piano/keyboards,... read more
Bongwool Lee - My Singing Fingers
by Dave Sumner, Bird is the Worm
Sometimes you just want to sit back with a piano trio recording that plays it nice and straight, and patiently dives into a melody to explore every inch. The debut from Bongwool Lee will definitely fit that need. The pianist straddles that middle ground where old-school jazz bleeds into the modern post-bop, and so the music is always plenty lively even when it grows increasingly contemplative. Bassist Luques Curtis and drummer Kendrick Scott... read more
Mimi Fox - This Bird Still Flies
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
A solo guitar tour de force by one of the pre-eminent practitioners of our age, Fox gets back to her acoustic roots and takes you back to the 70s when solo guitar records like this that made your jaw drop came along a lot more frequently than once in a blue moon. A master class and great music all at once, this is a sterling example of why so many of us have guitars in the basement in their cases gathering dust. We can't give it up but we're too... read more
Mike Pope - The Parts You Keep
by Dee Dee McNeil, Making A Scene
Geoffrey Keezer's piano introduction is stunning on an original composition by Mike Pope called "Misgivings." This tune was so captivating that I had to play it twice before I could go forward with reviewing this album. It's not only his piano elegance and delivery, but the melodic flow of this composition and the unexpected movement of this piece that hypnotizes me. Mike Pope's electric bass is melodic, playing his own song, almost like a... read more
Benjamin Boone - Caught in the Rhythm
by Dr. Debra Jan Bibel, Amazon
Benjamin Boone continues his lauded project of uniting poetry with jazz. After the two volumes of The Poetry of Jazz, featuring the poems and narration of Laureate Philip Levine, followed by A Gathering of Poets, 11 narrating their own often dark and angry social commentary, he presents his most interesting, expansive, and musical combinations that Boone himself regards as his best. Again, no text of the poems are provided, forcing the listener... read more
Tim Horner - The Head of the Circle
by Chris Spector, Midwest Record
Sure it might be sitting down jazz and art jazz, but it ain't like that. With a clear vision and some wonderful players along for the ride to bring that vision to the fore, this is a drummer led session where the drummer knows about more than the use of white space. One of those great creative dates that isn't creative for the mere sake of it, Horner has the chops and the flying time to pilot the plane anyway he wants and you can be assured... read more
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